Beats and yelling: Selenite Scrolls

Channeling the Egregore
Out 15^th May on Medieval Prophecy Records

The debut album from this Belgium outfit marries the uncanny, atmospheric mysticism of Beherit and Demoncy with a more symphonic ambition. It borrows the subtle, haunting style of early Ancient or Gehenna, but presents it with a relaxed yet intentional pace. Atmospheric, understated, a little loose in delivery, but never without purpose. Minimalist riffing meets a maximalist approach to arrangement and production, as every drop of potential is squeezed from the simplest idea via soaring keyboard lines, simple harmonic development, and a vast, spacious guitar tone.

The production feels highly curated toward achieving this end. Drums are set low in the mix but make their presence known. Driving the music forward with simple, linear rhythms. Blast-beats never reach above a certain tempo, keeping the momentum going without overplaying or washing out the music with needless speed. The guitar tone reaches for Elysian Blaze levels of cavernous reverb, dictating the topography and density of the riffs themselves. Although the dominant impression is overwhelmingly ambient, the intention seems to be a form of pure rhythm guitar. Treating the instrument like a string section in a symphony orchestra, their role is to both articulate the structure and direction of each piece whilst opening out into vast atmospheric flourishes like a flower unfurling its petals. Richly layered keyboards complete this impulse with vast, swelling synth lines. Despite some distinctive refrains bubbling to the surface, their purpose is primarily textural, filling any cracks left in the mix by the guitars. Mid-range, ghoulish vocals complete the picture, again mirroring early Ancient for their understated theatre. No wails of passion or loss of control. This is a premeditated, officiated performance, the director of the ritual completely in control of events.

‘Channeling the Egregore’ exists in a tradition of black metal emphasising theatre and ritual more than naturalism. Despite the relative minimalism of the compositions, they are populated with activity, presenting as dynamic, living entities rather than odes to the stasis of open spaces and endless forests. Structurally this is borne out by the episodic flow of the album. The vocalist/narrator acting as a kind of host, whilst a tapestry of guitar material articulates a range of dramatic vocabulary, from aggression to lamentation and even humour via a latent surrealism. In this sense strings serve as a kind of lavish ornamentation, sometimes threatening total dominance of proceedings in their opulence, but never wresting the overall flow of the music from its metallic foundation of drums and guitars.

What immediately comes across is the fact that Selenite Scrolls have found a way to articulate their a vision within a well established form. Original to the extent that their own voice can be clearly heard, but it’s a voice in constant dialogue with its history. It ekes out new creative space in a form of ritualistic black metal, adding touches of euphoria and drama to supplement a preexisting template. It’s this subtle but important craft of finding a role within a lived-in stylistic space that makes albums like ‘Channeling the Egregore’ infinitely more interesting than the copy and paste efforts of many of Selenite Scrolls’ contemporaries.